1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking utensils and, more particularly to an improved baking pan with hinged end and side panels that fold down with non-stick, scratch resistant surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many utensils designed for use in preparing baked goods make it extremely difficult to remove food items like lasagna, brownies or cake from the pan without loosing the aesthetic presentation of that item and generally destroys the efforts the cook has spentin preparing that item.
There have been several approaches to solve the problem of removing baked goods from the pan without ruining the appearance of the item. One example of such a prior art device is a round baking utensil that has a relatively flat member pivotally mounted at the center of the baking pan on the inner surface extending radially outward to the edge of the baking pan and also has a member extending upward so that after a round pie or cake has been baked, this pivotally mounted member may be rotated around the edge of the baking pan to separate the baked goods from the pan. A major disadvantage of this type of prior art baking utensil is that the concept may be used effectively only with round baking pans.
Other attempts to solve the problem of easy access and removal of baked goods from the pan have resulted in single use baking utensils where a portion of the periphery of the baking utensil was broken or bent away to allow access to the baked goods contained within the utensil. An example of this type of prior art device is U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,484. The most obvious disadvantage of such device is that it is expensive being a single use device that must be discarded after one use.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 428,792, issued May 27, 1890 to Willey, is for a baking tin or dish that is provided with a loose or removable bottom and loose sides that fall away from the cake or bread when baked, leaving it on the bottom alone to cool. The side and the end pieces composing the dish are loosely attached to a wire in their bottom edge upon which they swing, and on which the bottom of the utensil rests. Another wire, sliding up and down around the outside of the dish, operates said pieces.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,966, issued Aug. 13, 1974 to Martin, puts forth a collapsible baking pan that has a disposable liner of aluminum foil. The pan can be collapsed to a substantially flat position for ease of storage.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,714,379, issued May 21, 1929 to Kratz, concerns a baking pan with removable sides and ends so that a cake or loaf baked in the pan can be easily removed therefrom, without damage to the baked item. The sides and ends of the pan can be quickly removed and replaced. A latch means is provided for fastening the sides and ends together in such a manner that none of the material placed in the pan will leak through the joints of the pan.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,809, issued Jan. 14, 2003 to Reed, provides an apparatus and method for shaping and molding material that has two side walls, two end walls, a bottom and at least one partition. The two side walls have grooves spaced at predetermined intervals on an inside surface for receiving a partition and a bottom ledge for retaining the bottom. The inside surface has a plurality of openings sized for receiving holding members and may have a variety of shapes. The bottom is shaped to mate with the shape of the inside surface of the side walls. The two end walls include locking mechanisms for holding the various components of the apparatus together.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,858, issued Feb. 24, 1987 to Liotto, depicts a dual-purpose baking pan assembly that is suitable for use in a conventional oven wherein the assembly as well as the food therein are exposed to a high-temperature atmosphere, and in a microwave oven wherein the atmosphere is close to ambient temperature and the assembly and the food are subjected to microwave energy. All components of the assembly are formed of a dielectric material unaffected by microwave energy and capable of withstanding high temperatures. The assembly is constituted by a circular base which fits into an annular groove formed in a cylindrical shell defined by a pair of complementary half-sections whose rear ends are hinged together by a removable pivot pin and whose front ends are joinable by a detachable clamp. Thus, after a food product is baked in the assembly, the shell thereof may be detached from the base to expose the food product without disrupting its structure.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,080, issued Jul. 14, 1998 to Corse, shows a multi-purpose baking pan that has a pan portion for holding batter. A pastry holder is included to allow the user to bake differently-shaped pastries which can be inserted into the pan portion. The pan portion has a rectangular bottom wall with two side walls which extend integrally in the same direction from the bottom wall along the opposite edges. There are two end members, located at the short sides of the rectangular bottom, each have a rod-like hinge pin. Rotating an end member, by grasping and raising the lower portion thereof, allows the user to slide out the pastry holder without damage to the pastries or to the user. The multi-purpose baking pan also has a cover to protect the pastries within the baking pan.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,320, issued Sep. 27, 1988 to Stock, discloses a baking pan similar to a conventional baking pan except that the pan has a removable end section. The end section can be used to close one end of the pan when the baked goods are in a pre-cooked condition to prevent batter or the like from leaking out of the pan. The end section can be readily removed when the baked goods are to be served so that every piece of the baked goods can be removed without deforming such piece of baked goods or breaking it into pieces which would destroy the aesthetic presentation thereof.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,982, issued May 8, 1984 to Corse, claims a multi-purpose baking pan that is formed from a bottom pan member which has a convex bottom surface and a pair of side members that have a number of pairs of spaced apart holes. First and second end pieces are adapted to mate with respective pairs of holes in the side members of the bottom pan portion to form a baking pan of predetermined size. Different sized baking pans may be formed with the same structure by moving one or both of said end pieces to different pairs of holes along the bottom pan portion. A cupcake holder or similar plate having a number of holes therein may be mounted within the baking pan. The bottom portion of the pan member has a convex shape to mate with the end pieces and form a batter tight fit.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,225, issued Sep. 12, 1978 to Corse, describes a baking pan that has a removable end portion that allows easy access to the baked goods after baking. The removable end portion may be used as a spatula to lift the baked goods from the baking pan with minimum damage of the baked goods due to sticking.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,484, issued May 25, 1971 to Schneider, provides a portion access pie plate that is designed for gaining access to a piece of pie without mutilation of the pie. The pie plate involves lines of weakening extending radially from the center of the pie plate, which define segments specifically through the rim and sides of the plate. The segmental sections of the sides and rim are hinged and depressible for exposing cut portions of pie and also have a lever action that lifts and loosens the pie, thereby facilitating extraction of pie portions without mutilation.
What is needed is a baking pan with hinged sides that fold down for easy access to the baked item including overlapping edges to prevent leakage and a lock closure to insure that the hinged sides stay in place during baking also a non stick and scratch resistant surface so cutting can be done in pan for easy transfer to plate.
An object of the present invention is to provide a baking pan with hinged sides that fold down for easy access to remove the baked item(s).
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved baking pan with overlapping bottom edges to prevent leakage.
One more object of the present invention is to provide an improved baking pan with a lock closure to insure that the hinged sides stay in place during baking.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved baking pan with concealed hinges and smooth overlapping sides to prevent catching material on the outside of the pan and to create a smooth attractive appearance.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved baking pan with surfaces that are scratch resistant and non-stick and dishwasher safe.
In brief, the baking pan has a rectangular bottom with a recessed stepped edge all around the periphery and an internal rod around the entire pan to act as a pivot pin hinge on all four sides. All of the sides of the pan are provided with a mating protruding step along a bottom edge to mate with the recessed stepped edge of the pan bottom to prevent leakage. The bottom of each edge pivotally engages the rod to provide a hinge enabling each side to pivot down for access to the baked goods and pivot back up for cooking. One pair of opposing side walls, such as the long side walls of a rectangular pan, overlaps the adjacent pair of side walls, such as the end walls. A sliding lock mechanism in the end walls has hooks that engage loops in the overlapping portions of the long side walls to lock the sides in place for cooking. The baking pan furthercomprises an additional flat baking sheet capable of fitting on the pan bottom in contact with the end panels and side panels. The additional flat baking sheet acts as a tray and is inserted in the pan before batter goes into pan so when item is baked it can easily be removed from pan and taken straight to the table. The flat baking sheet can be used with pan or can also be used alone as a cookie sheet. The baking pan may be manufactured with a handle protruding from at least two opposing panels. The top surface of the pan bottom and interior facing surfaces of the end panels and side panels further comprise a non-stick coating, which is also a scratch resistant surface. The baking pan is fabricated of material that is capable of being washed in a dishwasher.
An advantage of the present invention is that the baked goods may be removed without damage to the presentation of the baked item.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the batter will not leak through the seams.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that the surface is non-stick.
One more advantage of the present invention is that the surface is scratch-resistant.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that baking pan is dishwasher safe.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that the hinged sides stay in place during baking.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the external portion of the pan has a smooth attractive appearance.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it has an additional flat baking sheet capable of fitting inside the pan bottom that acts as a tray as well as without the baking pan as a cookie sheet.